BUTLER, Pa., June 4 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania midwife was ordered to stand trial on manslaughter charges relating to a child's death following a difficult birth.
Judith Wilson of Portersville, Pa., will face involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges stemming from the November 2002 death of a child. The father of the dead child and five busloads of Amish, who support the use of midwives, were at the courthouse to back Wilson.
According to court documents, Wilson, a midwife for 13 years, was helping Heather Daley deliver a child. Wilson suggested the mother go to a hospital because the baby was in a feet-first position in the womb. The Daleys refused.
After a long delivery the baby was born but was not breathing. Wilson then called 911. The child died two days later and a pathologist determined oxygen had been cut off to the infant during delivery. The pathologist also said "excessive force" had been used to force the baby through the birth canal.
The support of the Amish, many of whom the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said did not know Wilson, came about because they feel "the medical association is trying to do away with midwifery. They want everyone in the hospital," one man told the newspaper.
